The present invention relates to a safety belt buckle and more particularly relates to a buckle intended for use in a vehicle such as a motor car.
Safety belts are now widely used in motor vehicles, and it is common practice to have a safety belt provided with a tongue which, in use, is inserted into a buckle. The buckle receives the tongue and locks the tongue in position until the buckle is released by actuating a push button or the like.
Many alternative designs of buckle have been proposed previously. Many of the prior proposed buckles suffer from the disadvantage that if the buckle is subjected to a very severe acceleration in the form of a linear acceleration, an angular acceleration or a centrifugal acceleration, the component or components within the buckle which serve to retain the tongue in position may be moved, thus causing the tongue to become released from the buckle. It is to be appreciated that a buckle of this type is utilised with the intention of retaining a person travelling in a motor vehicle strapped securely to his or her seat should an accident occur. Often, in an accident situation, a buckle may be subjected to a severe acceleration in the form of a linear or angular acceleration, or a centrifugal acceleration, and thus the tongue may be released from the buckle at the precise moment that it is most important that the tongue is retained in the buckle.